A Cut Above the Rest
by ShullBitter
Summary: AnkoKakashi Pairing. Anko stumbles upon Kakashi in an unlikely place.


And here we have a part of my Pair Anko With the Whole Damn Cast Project that I wrote like a million years ago.

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Mitarashi Anko returned from her mission early, filled out all necessary paperwork, and had nothing to do. All of her usual spar-mates were occupied, and every idle person she asked only froze up with a deer-in-the-headlights look before quickly remembering something or other that they were late for. Anko was bored. She could have always returned to her apartment to tend to a rising tower of dirty dishes, but flat out did not feel like it. Unfortunately, at this early hour in the afternoon, none of the really fun establishments were open, thus eliminating yet another venue of entertainment. Anko paced the streets of Konoha, searching for an amusing distraction.

So far, Anko's search was not going well. She was almost desperate enough to hunt down any random team of slacking genin to abuse when a familiar person caught the corner of her eye. She took a second look through the business's window and confirmed it. And it seemed like her quest for amusement was now over.

The building was a very cheerful one with a ton of windows and a cute pink canopy. Anko was vaguely familiar with it as a popular salon for the younger kunoichi. Looking through the lacy-curtained window to see none other then the famous copy-nin Hatake Kakashi sitting in one of those baby-blue chairs, and with a matching apron no less, was classic.

Anko walked right in like she owned the place, ignored the girl at the counter who undoubtedly would like to lure her into some overpriced high-maintenance new style, and called out to her friend. "Kakashi! Didn't expect to see you here!"

Kakashi started to turn his head to look at her, but the perky brunette wielding some kind of deep conditioning treatment quickly pushed his head back, never pausing in her work. "Hello, Anko."

Anko walked over to him. "So, Kakashi, you a regular here?"

Kakashi was as laid back as always. "Oh, this is my first time here."

Anko chuckled and glanced around the walls, taking in all of the girly beauty pictures. "Yeah, I can see why you'd pick a place like this."

"It came highly recommended by one of my students."

Anko paused for a moment. "She forced you into it, didn't she?" The way Kakashi's uncovered eye turned upwards sheepishly told her that she had nailed it. "Whipped by a genin, eh, Kakashi?"

Kakashi started to nod, but the stylist quickly grabbed his head and made a disapproving clucking noise. "She set up the appointment, dragged me here, and wouldn't leave until it was already underway."

Anko laughed at him. "The Kakashi, so tamed by a pre-teen girl!"

"Those pre-teen girls are dangerous, you know. Besides, I'm always going to be soft towards that Sakura-chan. It's nice to have one student capable of civility and common sense. The boys are great, but they just take so much energy." Kakashi truly did sound affectionate towards and proud of his team. It was sweet in a way.

"Hah! She has you eating out of the palm of her hand, Hatake! A hair cut at her favorite salon today, she'll pick out new clothes for you next week, and by the end of the month who knows how much control she'll have?" she teased.

In response, his eye crinkled playfully and he plainly stated, "I doubt it, Anko, as she's nothing like you."

Anko grabbed a beauty magazine, rolled it up, and gave his chest a gentle smack.

"I don't hear you denying it!" he sang out.

Anko smirked, "And I don't hear you saying you don't like it."

She could hear the smile in his voice when he said, "Yes, you have got me there." He might have said more, but his stylist cleared her throat and gestured for him to stand. "Shampooing time," Kakashi said to Anko apologetically.

"Not a problem," Anko said before calling over to the counter, "Oi! I think I'll have a quick wash and style!" Without waiting for a response, she followed Kakashi to the row of glittery looking sink-chairs and made herself at home.

And Anko didn't have to wait more then a moment before she had a stylist of her own. Her shoulders were wrapped in a fragrant towel, a pretty pink shade where it wasn't stained by bleaches and hair dyes, and her head shoved into the sink for the washing. She allowed her eyes to close as she relaxed, fully enjoying the warm water and the experienced scalp massage with the scented soaps. Generally, Anko really was not one for luxuries, so when she did opt for one she made a point of enjoying it to the fullest. All too soon, it seemed, the cutting off of the water and wrapping of her hair by the towel signified the end of the shampooing. To Anko's surprise, she had finished before Kakashi.

Anko allowed herself to be led back to the stylist chairs, and took a seat in the one next to Kakashi's stylist's station. And a moment later, Anko was reminded of why she usually wasn't much of a beauty shop rat. Hair dryers were just too noisy. Being deaf to her surroundings irritated Anko to no end. By the time her hair was dry enough for the stylist to begin the actual styling, Kakashi had only been seated a moment prior.

Anko gave him a look. "Your hair must be something freakish in thickness, Hatake! Think that took you long enough?"

With a joking 'tsk' noise, Kakashi said, "Must you always be so impatient?" At that, his stylist turned his head away from Anko and began the combing and cutting process.

"Bah, I'm not impatient," Anko defended herself. "You see, time is relative. You live in your time; I live in mine. Mine just happens to be faster."

"Hm, I like that," he said. "I might have to modify that to use it on my students."

"You sure it's creative enough?" Anko giggled. He shrugged. After a moment, Anko spoke again. "So, after we're done here, how about a friendly match? I promise I won't bloody you up too much!" Taunts usually didn't work against someone as laid back as Kakashi, but Anko couldn't help herself.

As predicted, Kakashi shrugged it right off. "Have you ever thought to try making love, not war?"

"Well, we can do that too," Anko said with an impish grin that was wasted, as Kakashi was still not facing her.

"Ah, that we could," Kakashi said nonchalantly. "But then we run the risk of messing up our hair."

"Oh?" Anko crooned. "Afraid of messing up your hair with little ol' me?"

Kakashi gave a short laugh. "Not agreeing to spar will lead to you messing up more then just my hair, won't it?" He paused while Anko giggled. "I guess I'll fight you, but I fully intend to hold you to the love afterwards," he teased.

Anko's stylist spun her chair so she could see her hair. "Look how cute I am!" She popped out of her chair to show Kakashi. "And you've got yourself a deal, Hatake. Just don't be late. Training Grounds 9."

Kakashi's eye glittered in amusement. He started to nod his head, but the scissor-wielding brunette quickly put a stop to that. Anko made one last silly face at him before going to the counter.

"My friend over there will be paying for both of us," she told the girl. Nothing wrong with a little bit of extra motivation for him to be on time, she reasoned.

The girl smiled and lowered her voice, "Can I ask you a question? Have you ever seen him without that mask? I mean, his voice alone is so sexy and he's so mysterious…"

Anko nodded. "Yep, and he's beautiful. He's just a beautiful person."

"Ah," her voice returned to normal. "Thank you, please come again!"

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Aaaand lets all thank my lovely beta reader, Kia, who when were were having trouble selecting a title brilliantly selected the runner up title-- "Hawt sexx0rz Jounin" 


End file.
